Underage drinking in Australia
Many people - especially parents - are deeply concerned at the amount of under-age drinking in Australia.
DSICA shares that concern.
DSICA members have adopted the Statement of Responsible Practices for Alcohol Advertising and Marketing to set a new and higher standard for alcohol marketing.
DSICA members were pivotel in the establishment of DrinkWise Australia, a social marketing organisation that is trying to educate parensts in order to change the underage drinking culture, and our members remain DrinkWise funders today.
While there remains a long way to go to reduce underage drinking to a minimum, very credible and well-established government-run surveys have found some positive trends.
The National Drug Strategy Household Survey is the largest and most reliable survey of how Australains drink. It is carried out every three years by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
The alcohol and drug use by Australian secondary school students is surveyed every three years in the ASSAD survey. This survey is conducted by each state, and results are reported both by each state and on a nationwide basis. Over 20,000 students are surveyed.
The 2008 ASSAD was conducted in the second half of 2008 and after the RTD tax increase. However, this survey found no change from the 2005 survey in underage drinkers' choice of preferred drink.
